TOWN OF ORONO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 2014 UPDATE Volume 1 Inventory & Analysis TOWN OF ORONO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 2014 Update Recommended to Town Council By Comprehensive Plan Committee June 5, 2014 Philip Ruck, Chair Vinal Applebee, Vice Chair Dennis Cross Farahad Dastoor Sharon Quinn Fitzgerald Abe Furth John Jemison Mark Kittridge Dan McConville Judson McIntosh Christa Schwintzer David Thompson Ryan Tipping-Spitz Johanna Anderson (resigned 5/16/14) Kenny Ferguson (resigned 10/18/13) Staff: Evan Richert, AICP, Town Planner Ruth Vaughan, Administrative Assistant Introduction and Acknowledgements The Comprehensive Plan Committee was appointed by the Town Council in early 2012 to update the Comprehensive Plan. A part of the plan was updated in 2009, when a similar committee undertook a full review of the rural area of Town – the area then zoned as Forestry & Agriculture – and recommended wide-ranging changes. The Town Council adopted these revisions in March 2009, most of which have since been implemented. The charge to the Comprehensive Plan Committee was to leave these changes in place but to update the Comprehensive Plan in all other respects. The Committee’s first meeting was in May 2012, and it met monthly for more than two years, completing its work in June 2014. All meetings were open to the public. Along the way, the Committee conducted five, well attended and facilitated Public Forums: two devoted to spotting issues and opportunities (Nov. 7, 2012 and Apr. 24, 2013); two to developing policies and actions (June 6, 2013 and Nov. 12, 2013); and one to reviewing and revising the policies and actions (Mar. 27, 2014). During February and March 2014, it also conducted an on-line survey to get advice on several key issues; 250 citizens responded and the results were discussed at the March 2014 Public Forum. A formal, advertised public hearing was conducted on May 29, 2014. The Committee made further changes based on the comments at the public hearing and unanimously recommended the Plan to the Town Council, as submitted in this document, on June 5, 2014. The Committee and staff wish to thank the many members of the public who presented ideas, comments, and critiques; Jane Haskell for facilitating the five Public Forums; Town Manager Sophie Wilson and all of the departments who provided essential information on all aspects of the town; the Orono Economic Development Corporation and the Orono Village Association; and the outside experts who gave their time and insights to the Committee on a wide range of matters – on transportation and utility systems, housing, economy, Pushaw Lake and the Town’s natural resources, farming and woodlands, recreation and open space, and the future of the University of Maine, among others. RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL June 2014 TOWN OF ORONO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 2014 DRAFT UPDATE TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME 1. INVENTORY & ANALYSIS Ch. 1. Population and Households A. Population Trends 1-1 Table 1-1 Population, Orono vs. Old Town, Penobscot County, Maine, 1960-2000 1-1 Table 1-2 Components of Population Change 1-2 Table 1-3 Population Change, 1970-2010, by Age Group 1-3 Table 1-4 Population by Race 1-4 B. Household Trends 1-4 Table 1-5 Households by Type and Relationship, 2000 v. 2010 1-5 Table 1-6 Percent Change in Family Households 1-5 Table 1-7 Average Household Size 1-6 C. Population and Household Projections 1-6 Table 1-8 Projected Population and Households, Orono, 2025 1-7 D. Population and Household Characteristics 1-8 Table 1-9 Formal Educational Attainment 1-8 Table 1-10 Occupations of Orono Residents 1-8 Table 1-11 Income and Poverty Profile 1-9 E. Issues and Opportunities – Population and Households 1-10 Ch. 2. Housing A. Housing Growth 2-1 Table 2-1 Growth in Housing Units, 2000-2010 2-1 Table 2-2 Vacancies, 2010, Orono vs. Bangor Metro Area 2-2 B. Housing Types and Condition 2-2 Table 2-3 Distribution of Dwelling Units by Type, Est. 2012 2-2 Figure 2-1 Housing by Year Built 2-3 Table 2-4 House Heating Fuel 2-4 Table 2-5 Substandard Occupied Housing Units 2-4 C. Student Housing 2-5 Figure 2-2 Rental Properties in Eastern Part of Orono 2-6 Table 2-6 Rental Units by Zoning District 2-7 D. Affordability 2-8 Table 2-7 Affordability Index, Orono, Penobscot County, and Maine 2-8 E. Issues and Opportunities - Housing 2-11 Ch. 3. Economy A. Regional Economy 3-1 RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL June 2014 Figure 3-1 Bangor Metro Area 3-1 Figure 3-2 Least and Most Competitive Sectors, Bangor Metro 3-1 B. Orono’s Economy 3-3 Table 3-1 Civilian Labor Force, Orono v. Bangor Metro 3-4 Table 3-2 Nonfarm Wage & Salary Employers and Employees, Orono 3-4 Table 3-3 Distribution of Jobs by Sector, Orono 3-5 Table 3-4 Taxable Retail Sales, Orono, 2011 3-6 Table 3-5 Faculty FTEs by College, University of Maine 3-7 Table 3-6 Incubator Businesses in Target Technology Center, Orono, 2012 3-9 Figure 3-3 Downtown and TOD Tax Increment Finance District 3-10 Figure 3-4 (end of chapter) Conceptual Build-Out Plan, Maine Technology Park 3-17 C. Economic Development Organizations 3-12 D. Issues and Opportunities – Economy 3-14 Ch. 4. The Shape of the Land: Geology, Soils, Topography and Water Bodies A. Geology 4-1 Figure 4-1 (end of chapter) Sand and Gravel Aquifers 4-12 B. Soils Figure 4-2 (end of chapter) Major Soils Classifications in Orono 4-13 Figure 4-3 (end of chapter) High Productivity Farm Soils, Potential Availability for 4-14 Farming Figure 4-4 (end of chapter) Potentially Available High Productivity Farm Soils by Zoning 4-15 District Figure 4-5 (end of chapter) Woodland Productivity Soils 4-16 Figure 4-6 (end of chapter) Soil Suitability for Development with Septic Systems 4-17 C. Topography 4-4 Figure 4-7 (end of chapter) Topography 4-18 Figure 4-8 (end of chapter) Watershed Boundaries 4-19 D. Water Bodies 4-5 Figure 4-9 Stillwater Branch 4-6 Figure 4-10 (end of chapter) Pushaw Lake and Its Watershed 4-20 E. Nonpoint Source Pollution Control 4-8 F. Flood Plains 4-9 Figure 4-11 (end of chapter) Flood Zones and Wetlands 4-21 G. Issues and Opportunities – The Shape of the Land 4-10 Ch. 5. Significant Rural Resources: Farm, Forest, Wetland, and Wildlife Habitat A. Farm and Forest 5-1 Figure 5-1 (end of chapter) Land Cover, Orono, as of 2001-2004 5-11 Figure 5-2 (end of chapter) Parcels Enrolled in Tree Growth, Farmland, and Open Space 5-12 Tax Programs, 2012 Figure 5-3 Demeritt Forest Lands 5-4 B. Wetlands 5-5 RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL June 2014 Figure 5-4 (end of chapter) Wetlands Included in National Wetland Inventory 5-13 Figure 5-5 (end of chapter) Status of Vernal Pools in Orono, 2012 5-14 C. Other Significant Wildlife Habitat 5-7 Figure 5-6 (end of chapter) Unfragmented Blocks of Habitat 5-15 Figure 5-7 (end of chapter) Significant Wildlife Habitat, Orono and Adjacent Areas 5-16 Figure 5-8 (end of chapter) Composite of Important Wildlife Habitat 5-17 D. Issues and Opportunities – Significant Rural Resources 5-10 Ch. 6. Historic and Scenic Resources A. Historic Resources 6-1 Table 6-1 Main Street Historic District: Status of Buildings, 2012 6-2 Figure 6-1 University of Maine Historic District 6-8 B. Archaeological Resources 6-9 Table 6-2 Historical Archaeological Sites in Orono 6-9 Figure 6-2 Archaeological Sites, Orono 6-10 C. Scenic Resources 6-11 Figure 6-3 Scenic Resources from Public Vantage Points 6-12 D. Issues and Opportunities – Historic and Scenic Resources 6-13 Ch. 7 Land Use A. The Big Picture 7-1 Table 7-1 Land Cover in Orono (2001-04 data) 7-1 Figure 7-1 Land Cover, Town of Orono, as of 2001-2004 7-2 Table 7-2 Land Use by Type, 2012 7-3 Figure 7-2 Existing Land Use, 2012 7-4 Figure 7-3 Existing Land Use with Large Wetland Areas and 100-Year Flood Zones 7-5 B. Development Trend 7-6 Table 7-3 Distribution of Permits for Residential Dwelling Units, 1998-2012 7-7 Table 7-4 Residential Subdivisions Approved, 1998-2012 7-8 C. Existing Zoning Districts 7-9 Table 7-5 Areas of Zoning Districts 7-12 Figure 7-4 (end of chapter) Orono Existing Zoning Map Adopted 2010 7-18 D. Issues and Opportunities – Land Use 7-13 Ch. 8 Transportation A. The Regional Transportation Network 8-1 Table 8-1 Ridership, Orono Black Bear Express, 2009-10 to 2012-13 8-2 Figure 8-1 Freight Routes 8-3 Figure 8-2 BACTS Region 8-4 B. The Local Transportation Network 8-5 Table 8-2 Means of Travel to Work 8-5 Figure 8-3 Orono’s Street System Based on Federal Functional Classifications 8-6 RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL June 2014 Table 8-3 Summary Average Annual Daily Traffic Counts, Selected Locations, Orono 8-7 Table 8-4 High Crash Locations, Orono, 2009-11 8-8 Figure 8-4 Link-to-Node Ratio 8-10 Figure 8-5 Sidewalks and Crosswalks in Orono Village 8-11 C. Parking 8-13 Figure 8-6 Distance from Mill St. to 6 Lots with Public Parking 8-14 Table 8-5 Timeslots for Downtown Parking Survey, March and April 2012 8-14 D.